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And I know I don't post as often as I should. And I know that none of this should need to be said aloud in a sane society, but...
White supremacy, Naziism, hatred of the Other is wrong. Is vile. My heart wants to say that this isn't what America is, but sadly all through the history of our very young nation it has been: enslavement and abuse of the Other is as American as all those other things we think of as American. Maybe what my heart means is that this isn't what America should be, what I want it to be. And I guess the only way my heart is going to get what it wants is if I stand up and help move it in the other direction, toward respect and love and working together.
Being in very old places for a couple of weeks reminds me how damned young the US is as a country. We're babies--or at least adolescents--when it comes to being a society, and right now we are going through one of our not-infrequent "You're not the boss of me!" phases. Starting right at the top. I've read enough history to believe that the pendulum will swing the other way, and to hope with all my heart that the arc of history will curve toward justice and progress. I'm an optimist by nature, and I'd rather be hopeful than hate. It's a daily struggle not to go directly to rage, but hate, for me, paralyzes. And this is not the time to wait and watch.
White supremacy, Naziism, hatred of the Other is wrong. Is vile. My heart wants to say that this isn't what America is, but sadly all through the history of our very young nation it has been: enslavement and abuse of the Other is as American as all those other things we think of as American. Maybe what my heart means is that this isn't what America should be, what I want it to be. And I guess the only way my heart is going to get what it wants is if I stand up and help move it in the other direction, toward respect and love and working together.
Being in very old places for a couple of weeks reminds me how damned young the US is as a country. We're babies--or at least adolescents--when it comes to being a society, and right now we are going through one of our not-infrequent "You're not the boss of me!" phases. Starting right at the top. I've read enough history to believe that the pendulum will swing the other way, and to hope with all my heart that the arc of history will curve toward justice and progress. I'm an optimist by nature, and I'd rather be hopeful than hate. It's a daily struggle not to go directly to rage, but hate, for me, paralyzes. And this is not the time to wait and watch.